I rely on writers and thinkers whom I have learned to trust. What they have said and written and preached and lived have proven to be consistent with what I read in the Bible, which is our “only infallible rule of faith and practice.” When they speak clearly and consistently on any topic, I give my careful attention and consideration. On the issue of discarding homosexuality as sin, I cannot help but agree with their decided conclusions.
I am convinced by studying a number of scholarly journeys into the realm of sexuality that they are correct. (I may at a later date provide a bit of a bibliography of what I have been reading. It is certainly not difficult to find a long list of adamant writers on the subject.) Here is a brief sample of quotations from writers I trust:
When I see people discarding their older beliefs that homosexuality is sinful after engaging with loving, wise, gay people, I’m inclined to agree that those earlier views were likely defective. In fact, they must have been essentially a form of bigotry. They could not have been based on theological or ethical principles, or on an understanding of historical biblical teaching. They must have been grounded instead on a stereotype of gay people as worse sinners than others (which is itself a shallow theology of sin). So I say good riddance to bigotry. However, the reality of bigotry cannot itself prove that the Bible never forbids homosexuality. We have to look to the text to determine that.
—Tim Keller, in a recent book review
We should not deny that homosexual relationships can be loving. But the love quality of same-sex sexual relationships is not sufficient to justify them. Indeed, I have to add that in a sense they are incompatible with true love, because they are incompatible with God’s law. Love is concerned for the highest welfare of the beloved. And our highest human welfare is found in obedience to God’s law and purpose, not in revolt against them.
—John Stott, Same Sex Relationships
As Western culture becomes ever more approving of homosexuality it is going to feel more and more as though we Christians are failing in our attempts to commend a Christian view of sexuality. But … this is no time for pessimism, and as society moves further and further away from its Christian moorings, the church is given more and more of an opportunity to model a counter-cultural alternative. Key to our witness and credibility on this (or any) issue is the quality of our life together, and the clarity of our message. We need to be clear on the gospel. Clear that it is good news for everyone. That no one is too far gone to enjoy it, or too complete to need it. We need to be clear not just that we are all sinners, but that we are all sexual sinners. None of us is coming at this from any position of superiority.
—Sam Allberry, Is God Anti-Gay?
Perplexing and painful as the homosexual Christian’s dilemma is, Jesus Christ offers him or her—indeed, all of us—faith, hope and love: the faith to accept both his standards and his grace to maintain them, the hope to look beyond present suffering to future glory, and the love to care for and support one another. “But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
—John Stott, Same Sex Relationships